DAVID PAYNE SENTENCED TO FOUR AND A HALF YEARS IN PRISON IN GLOUCESTER FOR CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE

In October 2008, traveller David Payne was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for sexually abusing two children. The offences occurred over an 18-month period, during which Payne targeted the young victims while staying at a caravan site near Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucester Crown Court heard.

Payne, 35, who has no fixed address, pleaded guilty to nine charges related to sexual abuse when he appeared before the court on Wednesday. Prosecutor Julian Kesner recounted that Payne exploited his trusted position to abuse the children, often when they visited his caravan. He stated, "The children eventually disclosed that abuse on a walk with their mother."

According to the prosecutor, the children revealed that Payne had warned them to keep quiet about the abuse, threatening that their father would take an axe to him and that he would be imprisoned if they did.

Initially, Payne denied the offences upon arrest but later returned to police a few days later and confessed, explaining, "He was guilty and did not want the children to feel they were being disbelieved," Mr. Kesner noted.

Defence lawyer Joe Maloney acknowledged that the offences were isolated incidents in the context of Payne being alone with the children on multiple occasions. He stated, "But he of course accepts that what he did was seriously wrong."

Judge Mark Horton sentenced Payne, who has a bearded appearance, to four and a half years. The judge remarked, "It is hard to imagine a more flagrant and painful breach of trust."

In addition to the prison term, the judge required Payne to sign the sex offenders register for life and imposed a sexual offences prevention order. This order prohibits Payne from working with children, engaging in recreational activities with them, photographing children, or even possessing any photographic device, including a mobile phone.